All Forum Posts by: Kyle McCorkel

@Larry F. Cash on cash should be at 10% minimum. With appreciation around the country, yields have gone way down on turnkey properties and I think the numbers stopped making sense a few years ago. Their proforma sounds misleading and borderline shady. I would consider a different company if I were you, or consider being a little more active with finding better deals locally.

@Spence NA It all depends on your market, but from what you’ve told us it sounds like it’s a small town and for a resale price of 105 that’s pretty low end. So I’d just do a nice laminate, and low to mid end appliances. As for the deck again assess your market by looking at comps. But I’m guessing no deck as well. Either way know your comps and know what characteristics they had.

@Joe Barton I think in theory it depends on how the numbers work out. As in which scenario yields the best returns. But I think in practice I would buy one cheap duplex as a house hack. Just start with one since it’s your first deal. Then you’ll have cash leftover for repairs and reserves. Once you are stabilized in that property move on to the next.

Originally posted by @Christopher Phillips:

@Kyle McCorkel

Most people in retirement homes have to sell their homes before moving into the facility.

Sometimes, one spouse goes in first, followed by the other spouse at some point. But, in that case, it would still be easier to target the owner at home.

But, if you're talking about beating probate, those are folks that died while still living in the home. Unless, of course, they died while ill in a medical facility.

Yes, I'm with you! The question is, how to I target the owner at home??? How can I get notified when someone moves into (or right before) the facility?

Where can I get that list?

So I know probate is a very popular way to get good leads.  Thinking along those lines...targeting the older population of people who are moving out of their homes...

Has anybody ever tried marketing to/through retirement homes? Maybe develop a relationship with a few large retirement/assisted living facilities and ask if you can market to their residents or ask if they can refer residents to you.

I feel like you'd probably get more leads that way rather than waiting for people to pass away.  You'd think many of them would have already sold their property by that point (if they pass away in an assisted living facility).

Thoughts?

Looking for some more responses...

@McKinley Carbone Thanks for the feedback!

I've implemented a direct mail campaign for the past 4-5 months (with limited success I feel - 1 deal and about a half-dozen "good" leads, with a bunch of tirekickers) and feel that I'm ready to tweak and/or scale.  I will outline my current system below along with some questions - any advice on where I should focus my efforts would be appreciated.

• I am not wholesaling right now; strictly looking for my own deals.
• Target properties: Looking for low-end BRRRR's (ARV <$120K) and low-to-mid-end flips (ARV $120K-$300K). Also 2-4 unit BRRRR's.
• I'm using MyREIPro.com for list generation and to send out the direct mail and like it so far.
• List generation: I either do Absentee Owners with >50% equity OR drive for dollars and lookup the owner's contact info.  I'm targeting only B and A class areas. 
• Current scale: about 200-300 pieces per month
• I mail to each owner once per month for at least 3 consecutive months
• I have a single postcard template that I send every time (see below)

• The website is a simple landing page where the prospects type in some general info and submit a form.  Then I call them.

• The number is a google voice number that goes straight to voicemail.  It's a simple recording where I tell them a bit about myself then invite them to leave a message.  Then I call them back.

• On the call back, I'm prepared with a rough script of questions for them about the property.  I also let them know what I do and am up front with what to expect from me.  If they are not tire kickers, then I'll arrange to go see the property.

• After a property walk through, I'll call them with a verbal offer within 24 hours.  If it's convenient, I'll deliver a written offer as well.

Questions:

• Should I tweak the list criteria? There's a lot of older people in the Central PA area - how can I target older owners and also probate/executors of will?
• Should I tweak the frequency? Is 1x/month too much or not enough? How many total mailings should I send to each owner (I'm thinking 6 feels right)
• Should I design one or two other postcard templates so they are not getting the exact same postcard over and over?
• The website/pitch: "Central PA Fixer Upper".  I've gotten feedback from one owner that felt insulted that I was calling her property a fixer upper.  I kinda rolled my eyes...but do you think I am losing leads due to this kind of wording? In my mind, I figured it would weed out people who had too much emotional investment in their property.  I want people who just want to get rid of it.
• Should I improve/add to the website? Maybe some testimonials/about me/FAQ's?
• With the google voice number, should I continue to have it go straight to voicemail? I do have some missed calls where callers do not leave a message.  Perhaps this might weed out some tirekickers, or perhaps I am losing leads this way.

For those who are still with me, thanks for reading all my questions.  Any help would be appreciated as I work to make my direct mail system as efficient as possible.

I just wanted to throw out some constructive criticism to Bigger Pockets as I've been frustrated with the search function ever since I joined.  Unless I am completely doing something wrong...the search function kinda sucks.  It just seems like it simply doesn't work.

For example, I just listened to podcast 295 with Melissa from Lead Propeller, so I was feeling kinda stoked about getting leads online.  So I hopped on BP and searched "lead propeller" thinking I would see DOZENS of threads - but I got a big fat goose egg. "No Results"

Then I went to google and typed in "bigger pockets lead propeller" and boom, there's the dozens of threads I was hoping for.  This proves that the threads exist but they're not being found by the actual BP search function.

This issue has happened to me countless times and it's time for me to voice my frustration.  Is anybody else struggling with this?

What @Nathan G. said, times 10.